


we transcend the story of our lives

by morningeve



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Cybermen - Freeform, Episode: s10e12 The Doctor Falls, Gen, Season/Series 12, basically this an excuse for me to write a doctor who folktale, but not make it a warning about the fury of a time lord, oral tradition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:41:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22344271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morningeve/pseuds/morningeve
Summary: This is the story of how Fire was defeated by the Storm, as told by the Willa, keeper of words of the village Iatros.(or,we're all stories in the end... just make it a good one)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	we transcend the story of our lives

**Author's Note:**

> Heard that Cybermen were going to be in the S12 finale two-parter. Rewatched the S10 finale two-parter. And I really couldn't let this go.

Three travelers came across a village one day. They were waiting for their companion to finish their business when a young girl approached them. _I am the Willa, keeper of the words of the village of Iatros. Would you like to hear a story?_

The travelers, having seen many things and were always searching for new things, graciously accepted the offer. And so, the Willa1 told the strangers the story of her people’s beginning as it had been told for two thousand generations by the Willa before her.

* * *

In the beginning, there was Earth. But Earth was empty and lonely, so it created Air. For eons, the two lived together happily. Earth created creatures from itself and Air breathed life into them. Centuries passed on like this, each generation growing stronger and more intelligent, able to understand the wisdom that Earth and Air imparted to them.

Yet over the years, Air had been growing restless for Earth created it with a wanderer’s spirit. Every day, it looked into the vastness and wondered what was there. So, despite Earth’s reluctance to, it let Air go. For centuries more, Air spread itself throughout the vastness, bringing its life with itself. Air learned great secrets—things it never would have known had it just stayed where they were made. It wandered and wandered until finally, the longing for Earth was too great and it returned.2

But Air had been gone for too long. It found Earth was not it once was. And the creatures were not what it remembered, for without Air, they lost the essence of who they were. They learned the secret of Earth and had created Fire to mold it to their desires. The creatures had changed too much, so much that they did not recognize their own essence. Sadness filled their hearts and Fire took over.

Despairing, Air reached across the vastness in search of one who they had never encountered in their wandering, only heard of. A being so old that they had seen much more than Air ever could. A stalwart fury to match Fire’s brash rage. The mysterious one who could never be tamed, but willingly came at Air’s behest.

Who are you, the Fire asked, when the being approached.

And the Oncoming Storm said, I am meant for infinite sadness. I am all the tears that have ever been cried and all the tears that have yet to fall. I warn you that the longer you scorch the hearts of these creatures, the more powerful I will grow.

But Fire was young and foolish. It had not existed since the beginning like Earth, and it had not seen the vastness as Air did. Fire said, sadness cannot vanquish me. Tears are small compared to my heat. You would destroy yourself to destroy me?

For Fire could not understand much past conquest and destruction, while the Storm, made up of all the sorrow it had ever encountered, looked into the hearts of the creatures and understood that their actions were begotten from their fear, and their fear begot from their sadness.

The Storm said, I do not wish to hurt you.

Fire did not listen and continued its scorch.

And so, the Oncoming Storm stood in the middle of the scorch, and took the sadness from the creatures, and vanquished Fire. And true to Fire’s words, the Storm was destroyed as well. In their last moments, as they started up into the vastness, the Storm saw the stars they adored and made a wish.

For the first time, water fell from the sky, putting out the last remnants of Fire. And Air, when it saw this, wept at the loss. But Earth asked, why do you weep? This is the gift of the Storm. It restores me and the creatures.

Air watched as the Earth rose again, the creatures with it. And it saw that the Oncoming Storm had not just taken the sadness. They had replaced it with hope. And the water coming down was a promise that hope would always uplift.

This is the story as it was told by him, the first Willa, who was there.3

* * *

The travelers marveled at how wondrous a story they had been told.

_It is sad_ , the boy said.

_It is beautiful_ , the girl whispered.

But the man with them who was older had seen more and heard more as Air did. He did not speak of his wonderment. Instead, he asked, _What does Iatros mean?_

The Willa, the keeper of the words of Iatros, answered, _Doctor. 4_

**Author's Note:**

> Even though showrunners don't continue things from previous showrunners, it would be amazing of the Mondasian colonists survived to another planet. And the Master is showing up again, so it would have been a cool circular tale.
> 
> 1 Willa is from William and a diminutive William is Bill. The name means protector.  
> 2 The story of Earth and Air was only meant to serve as a creation myth, but as I was writing it, I inadvertently wrote some of the Doctor's spirit into there as well. Replace Earth with Gallifrey and what have you got?  
> 3 Nardole, clearly.  
> 4 Well, Nardole did say he was going to name a town after the Doctor now didn't he?


End file.
